Billowing Peonies with Copic and Pencil from Altenew

 

Hello Again!  I’m popping in today with another beautiful set of Billowing Peony cards from Altenew which I coloured with a combination of Copics and coloured pencil.  As I mentioned the other day, this image is just huge, so I could create two slimline sized designs with one image.  

Here is a quick snap I took of the flowers after colouring, you can see its over 8 inches by 7 inches on my grid.  I cut it diagonally so that a part of both flowers was in both halves.  

For this first card I stencilled the background with the Halftone Stencil from Altenew, and then added some splatters of white acrylic paint and an interior die cut frame.  The image is popped up so it really has a sense of dimension.  

The lovely sentiment is stamped in white, and a few enamel dots accent.  

For the second card I ink blended a background with Wilted Violet and Seedless Preserves Distress Oxide ink and then used Waffle Flower’s Sweet Plaid Texture Die.  

Simple details finish off this design with enamel dots and a sentiment from the Altenew set.  

Makes for a beautifully dramatic set of floral cards!  My favourite!  

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Billowing Peonies with Copic and Pencil from Altenew

Billowing Peonies with Altenew

This May I was chosen as a winner of the Inspiration Challenge at Altenew, and was delighted to be able to pick up this stunning Billowing Peonies combination set.  I’ve been eyeing it for a long time!  The set itself is the largest set I’ve ever owned at 8 1/2 x 11 inches.  Filled with gorgeous peonies and lovely sentiments.  It’s so large that I could create two full A2 cards with it, and I’m playing along with the July Inspiration Challenge.  

This time I chose to use the coordinating stencil and ink blend with Distress Oxide inks.  Here’s what the image looked like after stencilling and die cutting: 

I chose to go with yellows, oranges and corals for the July Inspiration Challenge.  Ink blending especially with Distress Oxide inks really gives it a powdery soft finish.  

Firs up a partial cut of some of the blooms on this design, layered over top of a diecut background of soft green plaid.  

The encouraging sentiment is embossed from the set and a few enamel dots accent.  

For this second design, I layered the die cut flowers over top of a scalloped edge buttery yellow background to mimic the flouncy edged petals.  

See what I mean about gorgeous flowers??  I’ve accented it similarly to the first card with and embossed sentiment and enamel dots.  

Later this week I’ll show off other ways I’ve used this set with different colouring methods.  Thanks for dropping by today!  

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Billowing Peonies with Altenew

Primrose from Altenew

Hi there!  Sometimes its helpful to jumpstart the creativity by playing along in a challenge, so today I’m joining Altenew’s Monthly Inspiration Challenge using these wowie zowie bright saturated colours, and a freebie download from Altenew as well (Color Me Happy).  It’s a pretty version of Primrose flowers, and to keep it interesting I printed the image twice and then popped up the more purple toned flowers in the image, which gives it a fuller look, while still allowing it to be more clean and simple.  

 

The sentiment is a lovely encouragement in a nicely paired script and font.  For the background I used a retired Altenew Set, Hibiscus Bouquet to stamp directly on the paper, and then ran it through a coverplate die for texture.  

Then its just s simple sprinkling of enamel dots to accent, and it’s as fun and vibrant as the challenge colours!   Thanks for joining me today!  

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Primrose from Altenew

Altenew Inspired Hibiscus

 

I’ve been having a blast creating with new and old things this season.  I was looking through a stamp basket of mine and found this pretty Altenew set called Hibiscus Bouquet and thought, man I haven’t used that in ages!  So, I pulled it out and decided to play along with Altenew’s Inspiration challenge this month which calls for some fun colours.  

Now, I know Hibiscus come in gorgeous pink voilet shades so that’s the direction I went.  I inked the flowers with Concord and 9th inks and then washed out the colour slightly onto the petals to soften the colours. I also splattered ink across the paper to keep with that casual loose petal look.  

I added a pretty touch with MFT’s Octagon Frames foiling, and a foiled sentiment from Spellbinders Mini Everyday Sentiments.  They are the perfect size for a pretty banner sentiment.  

The final touch is a few sequins for some shiny glitz.  Really fun loose florals and they make a great statement across the card.  

Thanks for joining me today!

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Altenew Inspired Hibiscus

Vibrant Altenew Hibiscus

Today I’ve got something super vibrant and full of saturated colour!  When I was first picking up my watercolours this summer after a long break, I started this design using Altenew’s Hibiscus Bouquet.  It’s a really pretty set with sketchy style outlines of the hibiscus blooms and leaves.  It also includes some multi-step stamping elements if you don’t want to colour the flowers.  I masked and stamped the image and then played around with some washes using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi pans, but I didn’t love how it looked, so I just set it aside in my pile for future cards.  I picked it up again yesterday and added in some deeper, more saturated washes with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, and some reinkers and zowie....its definitely a bold statement!  

I LOVE vibrant colours, but I did second guess myself if this was too much colour, particularly with such a saturated background. But after showing it to my “adjudicating panel” (AKA my family), they thought it was great.  Its very loose, splashy and impressionistic, and it’s growing on me.  It’s always good to stretch yourself with new styles!

I also painted in some shimmer, and splashed some ink and shimmer overtop of the watercolouring, and also added Copic Opaque white to the stamens of the flowers to let them pop.  The sentiment is popped up and accented with a few sequins.  

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Vibrant Altenew Hibiscus

Sunny Hibiscus Watercoloured

When we were in California in April I loved gazing at the hibiscus growing everywhere.  They are such a showy tropical flower.  As I’ve been practising my watercolouring the last few days, I thought I’d pull out some of my own stamped hibiscus from Altenew's Hibiscus Bouquet, to play.  It has lots of open lines that you can interpret how you like.  Really pretty isn’t it?  As my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours are new, and what I’m trying to get better at, I used them again on this little arrangment.  I love the vibrance and depth of colour you can achieve with these paints.  It works so well for vibrant flowers like these.  

But you can also achieve soft backgrounds as well, so I’ve added a moody cool background as contrast for those yellow blooms.  

A bit of twine, some seqins and some old SU tropical feeling paper (the yellow layer are actually hibiscus flowers too, so it was a good find in my stash.  So, some more practise with my watercolours and another card for Kathy’s 30 Day Colouring Challenge!  

See you tomorrow with some Power Poppy goodness from the new release and my Copics again!  

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Sunny Hibiscus Watercoloured

A Persian Watercolour

I’ve been trying to get back more into watercoloring again after a long hiatus from it.  I think I mentioned that my kids gave me a 36 pan set of Gansai Tambi watercolours, and I’ve been trying to get the feel of them.  They are gorgeously pigmented colours, but they have a more thick opaque quality that you have to get used to a bit.  At first I was adding way too much water, and then too much pigment.  So, trying to find a happier medium, I pulled out a stamp set I haven’t used in a long time, Altenew’s Persian Motifs.  I wanted to emboss it this time because that gives you an “edge” where you watercolour won’t bleed past and it could help a little with my water control.  

So, it’s embossed on Strathmore Cold Pressed watercolour paper, and then bit by bit I added colour in some cool tones.  

I’m really loving how it turned out, even though I have lots still to learn.  Watercolour is so much more of a patient process, you need to do it in layers, and you need to let the layers dry between those layers.  So sometimes the best thing to do is just walk away and let it dry!  I also have a paper towel close by so that I can dab any excess water or pigment away.  

You might not be able to tell, but in the 36 pan set of watercolours, there are 3 metallic shades and I used the clear shimmery pan washed in on the background.  It adds a beautiful shimmery effect when you turn the card one way or another.  

A simple band of turquoise for the embossed sentiment and some pretty emerald gems complete the design.  

Thanks for dropping by!  

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A Persian Watercolour

Persian Congratulations

Popping in today with a pretty design that’s definitely not in the Christmas theme.  A friend asked if I would create a congratulations card for a friend who was retiring at her workplace.  She requested flowers and blue.  I pulled out this gorgeous set from Altenew, Persian Motifs that has been sitting in my stamps-to-use pile for forever.  I’ve seen so many beautiful cards with this set, that I really wanted to try it out myself.  

I stamped the flowers in a soft gray ink and coloured the design up with Copics.  

A soft panel of vellum, some pretty sparkle over some Scor Tape and some square gems accent the design.  

The lovely “sending” word die is from The Cat’s Pajamas.  I die cut out one layer in blue and then a second layer in Crafter’s Foam to pop it up a little.  I really love this product because it works great for intricate designs.  One side of the foam is adhesive so you can die cut it out and place it perfectly behind your intricate die.  

Here’s the Copics I used.  

Hope you’re doing well out there....we’re in the midst of a 10 day freezing cold snap so we’re bundled up out here and grateful for a warm house!

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Persian Congratulations